AIKEN, S.C. – The University of North Georgia men's soccer team picked up its second consecutive win Wednesday night in a rainy, 4-1 triumph on the road against USC Aiken. The Nighthawks move to 3-3-1 on the season and 2-1 in PBC play. 

Aided by big performances from junior forward Haris Osmanbasic and freshman forward Maxwell Mitchell led to UNG's convincing road win. 

After a back-and-forth opening few minutes that saw the Nighthawks maintain possession early, UNG got on the board after a mistake from Aiken goalkeeper Felipe Mattos. On a grounded cross from Mitchell to senior midfielder Rafael Oliveira Pais. Near the top of the box, Pais let loose a shot that skidded along the wet grass as it neared Mattos. The keeper fumbled the ball as he bent down to save it, letting in the first goal of the contest, Pais' third of the season. 

The Nighthawks happily took the 1-0 lead and control of the contest into the halftime break.

Moments after the second half got underway, UNG doubled its lead with a goal from Mitchell. After receiving a nice pass from freshman forward Jorge Sandoval, Mitchell drove into the box along the far side of the field. He turned his attention towards the goal and rifled a shot at Mattos. The ball went off Mattos, off the crossbar and into the back of the net. 

With the goal, Mitchell is now tied for the team lead in goals scored this season with three. He's tied with the man who scored the Nighthawks' next two goals in the victory: Osmanbasic.

In the 70th minute, Osmanbasic received a beautiful pass from junior midfielder Vukašin Lukovic. The pass led to a long breakaway opportunity. Anyone that has seen Osmanbasic play is aware that a long breakaway only means danger for the opponent. Osmanbasic blasted the ball past the keeper into the center of the net for his second goal of the season. 

His third of the year would come moments later. In the 74th minute, another opportunity was born for the Nighthawks as sophomore forward Stephane Shongo dribbled the ball away from traffic while in the box. He located Osmanbasic in the middle who then bounced a soft shot that Mattos got a hand on. The deflection trickled toward the goal line as Mattos fell to the ground. Osmanbasic stomped it into the back of the net to secure UNG's fourth goal of the game and his second. Osmanbasic becomes the third Nighthawk with a brace this season joining the other goal scorers from the night in Pais and Mitchell.  

Aiken would get a consolation goal in the 78th minute from Jose Rabadan, leading to the 4-1 final score. 

With the win, UNG gets ready to continue playing on the road as the Nighthawks are slated to face Flagler on Sunday, Sep. 29 at 1 p.m. Their match with Flagler was originally scheduled for Saturday, but inclement weather forced the contest to be pushed back one day.